For those looking to add colour to their living rooms, help is at hand. A group of women from Kangeyanallur in Vellore have come together to offer products made of wood that not only come handy in maintaining tradition but are also affordable.
The women work under the umbrella of Yellow Rose Women, which was formed by six women and now as 12 members. They have years of experience in turning wooden pieces into colourful toys.
When The Hindu reached the centre, six women and a man were working under a thatched building whose roof had holes. The women were busy painting toys made of mango and kodukkapuli (Madras thorn) wood, while lone male, A. Arumugam, helped them by carving the wood pieces.
Some of their toys included the hobby horse, roly-poly toy, ball-in-a-maze puzzle, rocking horse, snakes, elephants, jigsaw puzzles, jig doll, kitchen sets for kids, board games like Pallankuzhi (a traditional Tamil mandala game). According to them, children’s toys like giraffe, rabbit and duck, and also teapoy and dinner sets were always in demand.
A. Tamilselvi, a member of the group, said that the women worked in tandem to make these toys, each entrusted with a particular job. While Mr. Arumugam takes care of wood carving with the simplest of technologies, the women engage in the shaping the pieces into attractive toys.
The work involves, cutting, polishing, tinkering, painting primer, sharpening and shaping the toys and finally comes spray painting and drying, she adds.
“These toys provide relief from the clay and papier mache dolls. We offer a wide range of intricately-crafted wooden toys painted with vegetable colours,” she said.
The SHG, even though it has tied up with Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women, struggles to make both ends meet. The demand is more from agencies who are ready to buy on credit.
Mr. Arumugam said that the wood procuring was not easy. They procure seasoned wood pieces from sellers in Kaniyambadi, Ponnai and Gudiyatham areas of Vellore district.
“While the women make just about enough, the SHG has been running from pillar to post to get its own building and to provide training to more women. This would not only save this art from dying, but also help more women engage in toy-making from their homes,” says Ms. Tamilselvi.
Community organiser A. Yogavalli has assured all help to these women. “The allotment of land requires the involvement of more departments, which are expected to lend their helping hands to these women after the local elections are over in Vellore,” said another community organiser P. Lakshmi.
